Expedia Group’s brands picked up the pace in Q4: Travel Weekly

Bookings at Expedia Group’s three core brands — Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo — all grew in the fourth quarter of 2024, fulfilling one of the goals CEO Ariane Gorin set when she took over as the company’s leader last May.

Speaking on the company’s Q4 earnings call Thursday, Gorin said, “When I stepped in as CEO last year, we set an ambition to bring Vrbo and Hotels.com back to growth — while extending our strengths in brand Expedia, B2B and advertising — and being disciplined in our costs. While we have more work ahead, I’m proud of how our teams delivered against this call to action and built momentum over the course of the year.”

When Gorin took over as CEO, the Hotels.com and Vrbo were lagging largely due to the Expedia Group brands’ migration onto a single technology platform, which had recently been completed. They were also negatively affected when Expedia moved its three core brands to a single loyalty program, One Key.

Consumer bookings grew throughout the year, Gorin said, from being 3% down in the first quarter to 9% growth in the fourth quarter.

In Q4, room nights for brand Expedia grew in the mid-teens, Gorin said, and air “notably improved” thanks to higher ticket prices, package product improvements and new merchandising capabilities. At Hotels.com, booking growth largely came from international markets. Gorin attributed Vrbo’s booking growth acceleration to improved traffic and conversion.

Overall, the fourth quarter saw “better than expected travel demand,” Gorin said, leading to double-digit growth in room nights, gross bookings and revenue.

Booked room nights were up 12% in the fourth quarter, totaling 86.4 million. Gross bookings were up 13% to $24.42 billion, while revenue was up 10% to $3.18 billion.

Operating income was up 109%, to $216 million. Net income was $299 million.

On the B2B side, which includes Expedia’s travel agent booking solution, bookings grew 21% for the full year. B2B bookings accounted for 27% of Expedia’s total bookings, Gorin said.

Expedia Group’s 2025 priorities

Gorin outlined three priorities for 2025: “First, deliver more value for travelers. Second, invest where we see the greatest opportunity to drive growth in each part of our business. And third, continue driving operating efficiencies and expanding our margins.”

She plans on delivering more value for travelers by offering more member rates beyond hotels and driving more targeted offers. Expedia also plans to add more self-service options for travelers.

Gorin identified key investment areas in each of Expedia’s businesses. In its consumer business, Expedia plans to focus on its three core brands and their strengths. For example, Gorin pointed to brand Expedia as a “one-stop shop for consumers” with differentiators like packages. The company also plans to scale vacation rentals on Expedia.

Investments will also be made to further international expansion. While Gorin said progress was made in 2024, there is more to come.

With its loyalty program and marketing efforts, Gorin said the company will be more targeted in spending. 
In its B2B business, investment will focus on sourcing unique supply, testing new products, signing new deals and deepening existing partnerships.

For the third focus, driving efficiencies and expanding margins, Gorin said the company was disciplined with cost management last year, but that there is room for even more efficiency.

Continued AI investment

AI will play a large role at Expedia in 2025.

“AI is an accelerator for all three of these priorities, and we’ve only scratched the surface,” Gorin said.
More features are coming for consumers that are focused on personalizing travelers’ experiences, she said. AI can also help drive consumer traffic to the company’s brands. 

On the B2B side, Gorin said it is inevitable that AI startups will emerge, presenting partnership opportunities for Expedia Group.

The company will also continue to use AI internally to help its teams work faster and more productively.